You read the title, so you already know what this newsletter is about: I completed my triathlon!
I’m super proud of this achievement. It was one of my seven New Year’s resolutions, and even more important than that, it was on my bucket list! I’m thrilled I completed this after five months of training so hard for it.
But a funny thing happened when it came time to write this newsletter. As excited as I was for achieving this goal, that excitement wasn’t translating to my writing. I had very little enthusiasm about actually putting my experience into words. When I’ve written about races in the past, the writing flowed naturally. This time was different. Something was missing.
Let me rewind to the weeks leading up to the race.
I was stressed. I had been training for five months, but I knew the race itself would be longer and more challenging than anything I had done yet. I was as prepared as ever, but that also made me feel I like had way more to lose.
I’ve talked in the past about having to withdraw from a race. The difference then was that I was withdrawing due to a lack of preparation. I hadn’t made the time to train, so I wasn’t ready for the race. This time was different. I really didn’t want all my prep to go to waste. Nightmare scenarios started running through my head. What if swimming in a wetsuit in open water felt completely different from swimming in a pool? What if I got a flat tire on the bike? What if I crashed?
What I was dreading most of all, though, was the second transition: going from the bike to the run. I knew from reading and watching triathlon content ahead of the race that the second transition was the most challenging part of the race. It’s when your legs “feel like jelly,” and even walking feels weird, let alone running a 10K. I knew I would have to face this during the race. That was terrifying.
And so, in that mental space, I found comfort in weird places.
One of those places, with hindsight, is quite embarrassing. I wasn’t sure I even wanted to write about it because I’m unsure what I’d think if someone else told me they did this. But I have to come clean.
Here goes: I watched David Goggins videos.
If you know who he is, you already know why I’m embarrassed. For those who don’t know who he is, here’s a quick bio I’ve gathered from watching his videos:
He’s an ex-Navy seal.
He’s famous for doing a 100-mile race during which he had to stop after 70 miles due to kidney failure and multiple stress fractures in his feet, yet he still got back up and finished the race. (I believe he wound duct tape around his feet to numb the pain.)
He held the world record for most pull-ups in 24 hours, at just over 4,000 pull-ups. (He no longer holds the record, but he has also beaten his own previous record by doing over 7000 pull-ups.)
But his bio is not the embarrassing part. It’s more so his personality.
He’s a really intense guy. Like way too intense.
Here’s a sample of some of my favorite David Goggins videos so you can really get a sense for yourself.
This one’s an excellent introduction to who he is as a person and what he stands for (feat. his amazing slogan: “Stay hard!”)
His 100-mile race story.
This guy talking about his experience training with David Goggins (feat. Joe Rogan, what more could you ask for?):
And last but not least, my favorite one of all, “Who’s gonna carry the boats and the logs?!”:
Anyway, enough David Goggins for today. I don’t want to get you hooked like I was.
By now, I hope you can see why I was embarrassed to share this slight obsession of mine. But hopefully, you understand why I may have found comfort in these videos as well. David Goggins is the king of crushing outrageous physical challenges through sheer mental tenacity. He represents persevering under pressure, overcoming struggle, and digging deep in times of need.
Obviously, he’s also crazy. No one should be excited about running in a blizzard or proud of breaking their feet for the sake of a race. He has some good messages but takes it to an absurd and unhealthy level.
So why am I talking about this Goggins obsession? I swear, I have a good reason, and it’s not just for the sake of embarrassing myself publicly.
I had a bit of a realization over the past few weeks as I’ve been struggling to write this newsletter about my triathlon. At the end of the day, David Goggins is selling a story through his videos. It’s that dramatic tale, of pain and endurance, of beating any unforeseen challenge that comes your way.
It’s a great story, but that’s all it is—a story.
In hindsight, I wasn’t excited to write about my triathlon because I couldn’t find the right angle to come at the story. After watching these videos, I subconsciously hoped for the opportunity to write my very own David Goggins-eske epic.
That’s what I had done for my marathon story. I picked the worst moment of the race (my cramp at mile 19) and centered the whole story around that. It’s a great way to write a story. You throw the reader right into the climactic part of the story — you “cut to the chase” — then you rewind and build back up to that moment. It’s a format used so often that it’s become a meme. It makes for a very dramatic retelling of events.
Now think about how David Goggins structures his stories. When discussing his 100-mile race, we always talk about his kidneys failing at the 70-mile mark. We don’t talk about the training it took to get to that point. It also ignores the fact that other people can do 100-mile races without their kidneys failing. It’s glorifying the wrong thing for the sake of a great story.
That was my issue.
You know what isn’t a great story?
I trained for five months and put in the work day in and day out. I got my body ready. I didn’t drink to ensure I could recover well every night. I had a great support group around me. I came to race day ready to do my best, feeling trained and rested. And then, I executed the race. The cycle was hillier than expected, but nothing my legs couldn’t handle. I confidently knew that I had what it took to finish it. At no point during the race was I scared I couldn’t finish. And as expected, I finished with with no hiccups.
Where’s the fun in that? Where’s the intrigue? It’s not a great story, but it’s my story.
It took me some time to come to terms with the fact that nothing went wrong during the race. It seems ridiculous to say, but I was almost disappointed. There was no significant challenge to overcome. There was no David-Goggins-kidney-failure-at-the-70-mile-mark big finale. It makes for a boring story.
But I am proud of how boring it is.
After completing my marathon, fighting for every last mile untill the very end, I was proud to say I had completed a marathon, but I wouldn’t have felt comfortable calling myself a marathoner. This time is different. I completed a triathlon, sure, but I did it in such a way that I can comfortably declare: I am a triathlete! What makes me a triathlete is not the race itself but the five months leading up to it. For the first time, I trained the right way. And it felt great… regardless of how good of a story I could tell in my newsletter.
Before I sign off, here are a few thank yous:
To Francesco, my training partner, competitor, and friend, for training alongside me. Also, for challenging me on my David Goggins obsession.
To our friends, Brigid, Cesar, and Freddie, for coming out for the race and cheering us on during the transitions.
To my mom for driving me to the pond and watching me swim while dogsitting.
And, of course, to Charlotte, for putting up with my training, the early mornings, the long hours out of the house, the sunburns, the chafing, the exhaustion, and all the other fun stuff that comes with training. ❤️
What do my New Years goals look like as of now?
As you can see, the triathlon is the first goal I completed for the year. I’m also ahead of schedule on two goals: reading and meditation.
I want to dedicate a newsletter to my newsletters and creations goals. As we near the midpoint of 2023, those will become my main foci to ensure I make as much progress as possible.
As far as the bucket list goals are concerned, as you can see, I’ve already completed three this year! Those are:
Do a triathlon.
Do an entire training program for a race with a friend. (Thanks again, Francesco!)
I’ll also dedicate a newsletter to planning which seven bucket list goals I’ll complete by the end of the year.
So what’s my next big challenge? The NYC Marathon! My training starts on July 2. To all the friends whose drinks I turned down while I was training for the triathlon, let’s hang out before then!
Loved this! David Goggins is definitely mister overkill, I'm not going to lie he's one of those people who when I hear him talk my brain just instantly switches off as I don't really want to listen to any of his crap, it is a bit embarrassing but big up to you for coughing up :)
There is a book I absolutely love, which I can't remember if I've already recommended or not, but its called "Feet in the Clouds" by Richard Askwith which is about fell running in the UK and there are plenty of insanely inspirational stories of grit and determination. If you do end up reading it and get to the chapter on 'Iron' Joss Naylor you're in for a treat :)